Welcome to Sicily! Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine, architecture and language. The Sicilian economy is diversified. The agriculture sector is significant with citrus fruits (mainly oranges and lemons), olives and olive oil, grapes and wine. Tourism and real estate are economically important for the island. Sicily also holds importance for archeological and ancient sites such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples and Selinunte.
Sicily has roughly triangular shape, which earned it the name Trinacria. It is separated to the east from the Italian region of Calabria through the Strait of Messina. The distance between the island and mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina is about 3 kilometers (1.9mi) wide in the north, and about 16km (9.9mi) in the south of the Strait. The terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly, and intensively cultivated wherever it was possible. Along the northern coast, mountain ranges of Madonie (2000 m), Nebrodi (1800 m) and Peloritani (1300 m) represent an extension of mainland Appennines. The cone of Mount Etna dominates over the eastern coast. In the south-east lie lower Hyblaean Mountains (1000 m).
About 750 BC, the Greeks began to colonize Sicily (Sikelia), establishing many important settlements. The most important colony was Syracuse; other significant ones were Akragas, Selinunte, Gela, Himera, and Zancle.Greece began to make peace with the Roman Republic in 262 BC and the Romans sought to annex Sicily as its republic's first province. Rome intervened in the First Punic War, crushing Carthage so that by 242 BC Sicily had become the first Roman province outside of the Italian Peninsula. The Arabs initiated land reforms which in turn, increased productivity and encouraged the growth of smallholdings, a dent to the dominance of the landed estates. The Arabs further improved irrigation systems. A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqal, an Arab merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb called the Al-Kasr (the palace) is the center of Palermo to this day, with the great Friday mosque on the site of the later Roman cathedral.
Sicily has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and wet winters and hot, dry summers.
Sicily's sunny, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history, and architecture attract many tourists from mainland Italy and abroad. The tourist season peaks in the summer months, although people visit the island all year round. Mount Etna, the beaches, the archeological sites, and the two major cities of Catania and Palermo are the favourite tourist destinations, but the old town of Taormina and the neighbouring seaside resort of Giardini Naxos draw visitors from all over the world, as do the Aeolian Islands, Erice, Cefalù, Syracuse, and Agrigento. The latter features some of the best-preserved temples of the ancient Greek period. Many Mediterranean cruise ships stop in Sicily, and many wine tourists also visit the island. The temple of Juno, Agrigento World Heritage Sites
Archeological park Valle dei Templi of Agrigento, since 1997.
Villa Romana del Casale of Piazza Armerina inscribed in 1997.
The Aeolian Islands (Natural site) inscribed 2000.
Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) since 2002.
Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica since 2005.
The Sicilian flag is the flag of Sicily, and is regarded as a regional icon The coppola is a traditional kind of flat cap typically worn in Sicily. First used by English nobles during the late 18th century. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still plagues the island with black ash with its ever current eruptions. It currently stands 3,329 metres (10,922 ft) high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m (69 ft) lower now than it was in 1981.
Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine, architecture and language. The Sicilian economy is diversified. The agriculture sector is significant with citrus fruits (mainly oranges and lemons), olives and olive oil, grapes and wine. Tourism and real estate are economically important for the island. Sicily also holds importance for archeological and ancient sites such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples and Selinunte.
Sicily has roughly triangular shape, which earned it the name Trinacria. It is separated to the east from the Italian region of Calabria through the Strait of Messina. The distance between the island and mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina is about 3 kilometers (1.9mi) wide in the north, and about 16km (9.9mi) in the south of the Strait. The terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly, and intensively cultivated wherever it was possible. Along the northern coast, mountain ranges of Madonie (2000 m), Nebrodi (1800 m) and Peloritani (1300 m) represent an extension of mainland Appennines. The cone of Mount Etna dominates over the eastern coast. In the south-east lie lower Hyblaean Mountains (1000 m).
About 750 BC, the Greeks began to colonize Sicily (Sikelia), establishing many important settlements. The most important colony was Syracuse; other significant ones were Akragas, Selinunte, Gela, Himera, and Zancle.Greece began to make peace with the Roman Republic in 262 BC and the Romans sought to annex Sicily as its republic's first province. Rome intervened in the First Punic War, crushing Carthage so that by 242 BC Sicily had become the first Roman province outside of the Italian Peninsula.
The Arabs initiated land reforms which in turn, increased productivity and encouraged the growth of smallholdings, a dent to the dominance of the landed estates. The Arabs further improved irrigation systems. A description of Palermo was given by Ibn Hawqal, an Arab merchant who visited Sicily in 950. A walled suburb called the Al-Kasr (the palace) is the center of Palermo to this day, with the great Friday mosque on the site of the later Roman cathedral.
Sicily has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild and wet winters and hot, dry summers.
Sicily's sunny, dry climate, scenery, cuisine, history, and architecture attract many tourists from mainland Italy and abroad. The tourist season peaks in the summer months, although people visit the island all year round. Mount Etna, the beaches, the archeological sites, and the two major cities of Catania and Palermo are the favourite tourist destinations, but the old town of Taormina and the neighbouring seaside resort of Giardini Naxos draw visitors from all over the world, as do the Aeolian Islands, Erice, Cefalù, Syracuse, and Agrigento. The latter features some of the best-preserved temples of the ancient Greek period. Many Mediterranean cruise ships stop in Sicily, and many wine tourists also visit the island.
The temple of Juno, Agrigento
World Heritage Sites
The Sicilian flag is the flag of Sicily, and is regarded as a regional icon
The coppola is a traditional kind of flat cap typically worn in Sicily. First used by English nobles during the late 18th century.
Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still plagues the island with black ash with its ever current eruptions. It currently stands 3,329 metres (10,922 ft) high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m (69 ft) lower now than it was in 1981.